I enjoy Hot Cross Buns and usually make a couple of different recipes each years. I buy extra citron during the holidays for the more traditional recipe. I also enjoy the dried cherry version. I'll just post my favorites so you can decide for yourself...which you might want to try. I have made all of these recipes. Hot Cross Buns: 1 cup (240 ml) milk 1 package (1/4 oz.) (7 grams) active dry yeast 1/2 teaspoon granulated white sugar 3 1/2 - 4 cups (455 - 520 grams) all purpose flour 1/4 cup (55 grams) light brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt 5 tablespoons (70 grams) unsalted butter, melted 1 large egg, lightly beaten 1/3 cup (80 ml) candied fruit and peel mix 1/3 cup (80 ml) currants (or raisins) Glaze: 1/2 cup (60 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar 1 tablespoon milk or cream Hot Cross Buns: In a small saucepan, or in the microwave, heat the milk until lukewarm (about 100 degrees F or 38 degrees C). Add the yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar and stir to combine. Set aside for about 10 minutes or until the yeast is foamy. Meanwhile in the bowl of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, spices, and salt. Once the yeast is foamy, gradually add to the flour mixture and beat until the dry ingredients are moistened. Add the melted butter and egg and beat until incorporated. With the mixer on medium low speed, with the dough hook, gradually add the candied and dried fruit and continue to knead the dough until it is silky smooth and elastic. Add more flour if necessary. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning the dough once, so the top is lightly greased. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise until it has almost doubled in size (about 1 1/2 - 2 hours). When the dough has doubled in size, gently punch it down to release the air, and divide into 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a small round ball and place on a parchment lined baking sheet (Place three buns to a row, four rows altogether. They should be spaced so they have enough room to double in size.) Make an egg wash of one beaten egg with 1 tablespoon milk, and brush the tops of the buns with the wash. Lightly spray a piece of plastic wrap with a nonstick cooking spray, and place lightly over the buns. Place in a warm spot until almost doubled in size (about 60 minutes). Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Brush the tops of the buns with the egg wash, and with clean kitchen shears (or a a sharp, lightly greased knife), cut a 'cross' in the top of each bun. Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the buns are nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool completely before glazing. Glaze: Combine the confectioners sugar and milk and mix until smooth. Place the glaze in a paper cone or a small plastic bag. Cut the end of the cone or bag and pipe a 'cross' on the top of each bun. Makes 12 buns. http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/HotCrossBuns.html#ixzz1oCQc7kPD Traditional Hot Cross Buns (source unknown) serves 12 3 cups flour Note: I hold out about 1/2 C of this flour and add if dough seems too soft) 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. all spice 1/2 tsp. nutmeg cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter, melted 1 egg, beaten 3/4 cup raisins 1/3 cup candied citron fruit Yeast Mixture: 1 Tbs. dry yeast 1 Tbs. sugar 2/3 cup warm milk 1/2 cup warm water 1 cup flour Glaze: 2 Tbs. milk 2 Tbs. water 3 Tbs. sugar Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix all yeast ingredients in a bowl. Set aside and let it foam. Sift flour, salt, spice, and sugar in a second bowl. Add fruits and mix well. Mix butter, eggs and add to yeast mixture. Add yeast mixture to flour mixture. Knead dough on floured surface, 8\-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Divide into 12 equal pieces, shape into round buns. Place rolls close together in a baking pan. Cover and let rise at warm room temperature for 45 minutes. Use a sharp knife to cut an X\-shape on the dough surface. Bake in oven at 425 degrees F for 15\-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on rack. Make glaze by bringing ingredients to boil in a saucepan for 2 minutes. Brush glaze over buns thickly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hot Cross Buns with Dried Sour Cherries www ( ?? ) Yield: 16 buns For Buns: 6 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 cup milk 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves Grated zest of one lemon 1/4 cup warm water 2 packages (1/2 ounce or 4 1/2 tsp) active dry yeast 1 whole egg plus 2 egg yolks 3 1/3 cups all\-purpose unbleached flour, plus more for kneading 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup dried sour cherries 1/2 cup chopped pistachios (I omit) Melted unsalted butter for pan and brushing 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon milk (glaze) For Icing: 1 cup confectioners' (powdered) sugar 1 to 2 teaspoons milk, heated Buns: Combine 5 tablespoons of the sugar, the milk, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and lemon zest in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the milk is hot and the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and pour into a large bowl. Let cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, combine the warm water with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes. Whisk the whole egg, the egg yolks, and the yeast into the cooled milk. In another bowl, stir together the 3 1/3 cups flour and the salt. Add the yeast mixture, stirring until a sticky dough forms. Stir in the sour cherries and pistachios. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board or countertop and knead until smooth and elastic, 10 to 15 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle with a little more flour. Transfer to a lightly buttered bowl and brush the surface with a little melted butter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft\-free place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Punch down and knead briefly. Re\-cover and let rise a second time, about 30 minutes. Punch the dough down again and knead briefly. Divide into quarters and divide each quarter into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a smooth ball and place in a lightly buttered 9\-by\-13\-inch pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise a final time until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush the buns with the egg glaze. Bake until golden brown and the buns sound hollow when rapped on the bottom, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon warm milk in a bowl. Stir until smooth, adding another 1 teaspoon milk if needed to achieve a smooth consistency. Spoon into a pastry bag or a lock\-top sandwich bag, seal, and snip off the tip of one corner. Squeeze the icing from the bag, piping a cross over each cooled bun. Serve the buns at room temperature. Nancy

Oh, don't we love our pets, despite the catastrophes! When I was in the 6th grade, I baked and frosted my first, all-by-myself scratch cake. Feather Devil's Food from my mother's stand by cookbook with a rich chocolate frosting. Mom invited some friends to come down for coffee and cake to show it off. I set it on the coffee table, with plates, the nice napkins, forks, and the crystal sugar bowl and creamer etc. Just before they were supposed to arrive, I went into the living room to check once more that everything was perfect, only to see our beloved mongrel "Lu-Lu" saunter nonchalantly past the coffee table and quickly edge the side of her nibbling mouth across the cake. She must have made this pass a number of times, because a good portion of the cake was gone from that side. Well, we trimmed it and re-frosted the side, and our friends (pet owners as well) had a good laugh with their slices of oddly shaped cake. They don't MEAN to try us, they just have different ideas about celebrating than we do!

Earthlydelights, your story was just terrifying. Thank God you & your son were OK. Moosemac, I love you! I have been very, very lucky and have never had any serious kitchen incidents but I did have a close call with the griddle on my new, gas stove, paired with me making french toast first thing in the AM while wearing my jammies & no bra. As I leaned forward to put the slices at the back of the (24" deep) griddle I realized that this could possibly end very, very badly. I vowed never to cook without first having coffee (and a bra). My first actual accident was due to the fact that every single knife in my mother's house was dull to the point that the handles would probably cut better than the blades themselves. So here I am married, with my nice new knives and I learned right away why you should never cut down towards your finger. Did you know that knives with actual sharp edges don't just bounce right off skin? The mandoline with the taste for blood...love it! Nina

Interesting the impressions some have :-) There is a big difference between a department store......of which very few exist these days.....and large clothing stores. Nordstroms has never been a department store!! It started as a shoe store.....period! I remember shopping there in my late teenage years, as they were one of the few places around that sold Capezio shoes (which I loved and had a vast collection :-)) It wasn't until it combined with a woman's apparel store (Best's Apparel) that it became a clothing store, known as Nordstrom-Best and finally just Nordstroms. But it only sold shoes and clothes. That is NOT a department store!! Back in the day, Seattle had two, semi-upscale department stores - The Bon Marche and Frederick and Nelsons. The sold everything from soup to nuts....clothes, toys, furniture and antiques, appliances, kitchenware, fine china and crystal, linens, fine art, etc. And food.....both already prepared food, imported goods, a bakery and several restaurants. The Bon was acquired by Macy's in 2003 but still remains as the largest department store in the area. Frederick and Nelsons was even larger than The Bon and a step or two up in both quality and price. And F&N was where Frango's originated. F&N was acquired by Marshall Fields in 1929 but always operated under the F&N name. It was a huge store...12 storeys and occupied a full city block. It had multiple restaurants, a fantastic bakery, a candy kitchen (where Frangos and other candies were made), a post office, beauty salon, infirmary, a daycare facility and a reading room. It was known for its fabulous, animated Christmas windows and was where all the best Santa photos were taken :-) It was a Seattle institution! It closed with the demise of Marshall Fields in the early 90's. But that massive store is still there in the heart of downtown Seattle and is now the Nordstrom flagship store and corporate office.